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NFL quarterback quandary: Find one or watch him win elsewhere

By Jeff Legwold, The Denver Post

Posted:
04/04/2013 06:06:08 AM PDT

Updated:
04/04/2013 06:06:13 AM PDT

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) looks to throw a pass during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game against the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans, Feb. 3, 2013. (Evan Vucci)

Today's NFL is filled with a whirlwind of moves, draft picks and big contracts handed out in the quest to find, and keep, marquee quarterbacks. That search influences everything, every decision and almost every slot in the standings. It determines who's hired, who's fired, who wins and who loses.

An NFL team without that upper-tier quarterback?

"It's like a writer without a pen," said new Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid. "There's a problem. You have to make sure that you have that position taken care of."

New Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, who traded for Carson Palmer this week, put it this way: "It's a problem (when) you don't have a quarterback. When you have two, you don't have one. That's been my philosophy. If we're out there competing to see who the quarterback is, we have a problem."

Teams such as the Broncos with Peyton Manning, the New England Patriots with Tom Brady, the Baltimore Ravens with new $120.6 million QB Joe Flacco and the Dallas Cowboys, who extended Tony Romo's contract for six years and $108 million last week, will pay almost any price to keep their guy. And teams without a top-flight quarterback? It's a mad scramble to find one.

Just look at the recent frenzy. Without a no-questions-asked starter in this year's draft class, teams have been jockeying throughout the offseason to upgrade at quarterback. This week the Cardinals traded for Palmer and the Oakland Raiders traded for Matt Flynn. When the free-agency period started, the Chiefs traded for Alex Smith. The Buffalo Bills recently signed Kevin Kolb.

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Flacco's new contract is the richest in NFL history, a result not only of his Super Bowl run but also of the Ravens not wanting to find a replacement.

"We're very willing to do what we needed to do," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of re-signing Flacco. "We're going to build a great team around him too. We've done that in the past."

While Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson were once held up as post-1980s passers who were important role players in their teams' Super Bowl runs, they are little more than quirky footnotes now. On one side you have Johnson and Dilfer, Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks who had the luxury of record-setting defenses playing alongside them. And on the other side you have 12 quarterbacks who account for 19 of the past 21 Super Bowl championships.

That list of 12 quarterbacks consists of three Hall of Famers (Troy Aikman, Steve Young and John Elway), 15 league MVPs and 72 Pro Bowl selections. Flacco is on the list because, since the start of his rookie season in 2008, no other quarterback has won as many games as his 63. He also is the first quarterback in league history to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons.

Flynn, meanwhile, is a sign of the times. Despite having made only three starts in his NFL career, he was signed to a three-year, $26 million contract by the Seattle Seahawks before the 2012 season. Seattle then used a third-round pick to acquire Russell Wilson in last year's draft. Wilson beat out Flynn in training camp.

This year, teams will line up at the April 25-27 draft trying to make another high-value pick like Wilson. And while many scouts say there is no quarterback worth a first-round pick this year, it won't stop teams from rolling the dice to try to beat the odds. The stakes at that position are that high.

Flynn was traded to the Raiders this week in exchange for two draft picks. The Raiders have used 15 quarterbacks in the past 10 seasons, and they hope No. 16 in that long line is the answer — an answer that has to be found if a chance at the trophy is to follow.

Teams will pay the price. Broncos coach John Fox recently reflected upon Manning's $20 million salary in 2013 and its impact on his team's salary cap.

"I've done it both ways," Fox said. "I've had the $20 million guy and not had the $20 million guy. The $20 million is worth it."